Cushion

ABSTRACT

A CUSHION FOR A SEAT, A COUCH OR A MATTRESS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION (1) A FLEXIBLE, TIGHT NON-SUBDIVIDED ENVELOPE, WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY COMPRESSIBLE IN THE DIRECTION OF THE THICKNESS OF THE CUSHION, (2) CONNECTING MEANS FOR ELECTIVELY CONNECTING THE INTERIOR OF SAID ENVELOPE WITH AN AMBIENT ENVIRONMENT OR WITH VACUUM MEANS IN ORDER TO REGULATE THE INTERNAL PRESSURE IN THE ENVELOPE, (3) CLOSING MEANS FOR CLOSING OFF THE INTERIO OF SAID ENVELOPE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN A DETERMINED PRESSURE IN THE INTERIOR OF THE ENVELOPE, AND (4) A POROUS MASS WHICH IS ELASTICALLY COMPRESSIBLE AND IS CONTAINED IN THE ENVELOP, SO AS TO   BE COMPRESSED WHEN THE INTERIOR OF THE ENVELOPE IS CONNECTED TO THE VACUUM MEANS BY SAID CONNECTING MEANS AND SO AS TO BE INFLATED WHEN THE INTERIOR OF THE ENVELOPE IS CONNECTED TO THE AMBIENT ENVIRONMENT BY SAID CONNECTING MEANS.

Nov. 2, 1971 F. M. J. BRAUN 3,

CUSHION Filed April 28, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 2, 1971 F. M. J. BRAUN 3,616,471

,CUSHION if 7 Filed April 28, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 2, 1971 F M, J, B N 3,616,411

CUSHION Filed April 28, 1969 v 4 Sheets-Shoot s Nov. 2, 1971 F. M. J. BRAUN CUSHION in Filed April 28, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent 3,616,471 CUSHION Francois Marie Joseph Braun, Kraainem, Belgium, as-

signor to Societe Anonyme belge dExploitation de la Navigation aerienne (SABENA), Brussels, Belgium Filed Apr. 28, 1969, Ser. No. 819,867 Claims priority, application Belgium, May 7, 1968,

58,084 Int. Cl. A47c 27/08 US. Cl. 348 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cushion for a seat, a couch or a mattress comprising in combination (1) a flexible, tight non-subdivided envelope, which is substantially compressible in the direction of the thickness of the cushion, (2) connecting means for selectively connecting the interior of said envelope with an ambient environment or with vacuum means in order to regulate the internal pressure in the envelope, (3) closing means for closing off the interior of said envelope in order to maintain a determined pressure in the interior of the envelope, and (4) a porous mass which is elastically compressible and is contained in the envelope, so as to be compressed when the interior of the envelope is connected to the vacuum means by said connecting means and so as to be inflated when the interior of the envelope is connected to the ambient environment by said connecting means.

This invention relates to a cushion for a seat, couch, or for making a mattress.

Cushions of this kind are known, either made of foam such as latex, polyether or polyester, or of fibres, and more particularly of wool, horsehair, glass, or synthetic resins.

These substances are generally contained in a fiexible cover which is permeable to air.

In order to assure a certain amount of comfort, it is known to give these cushions an anatomical profile. However, the difficulty is to decide on the shape of the anatomical profile. Since the cushion will be used by a number of persons of diiferent height, size, age and sex, the shape of the cushion will necessarily be a compromise, and a very vague one. Thus, for the back, the correct anatomical support should be in the lumbar region, but between one person and the next, the height of this region from the base of the seat varies both in distance and in curvature. It is therefore impossible to design a cushion, the curve of which can satisfy a large number of different persons.

However, for surgical applications, there has already been proposed a cushion which can adapt itself closely to the anatomical shape of the occupant.

For surgical uses, a cushion has been designed which adapts itself closely to the anatomy of the sitter. This cushion consists of a flexible tight envelope, filled partly by light but resistant spheres and connected to a vacuum pump so that, under the action of the atmospheric pressure, it closes more or less tightly around the body or part to be fixed so as to enclose it firmly.

The presence of small, non-deformable balls within the space of the envelope has the effect that the cushion becomes stiffer in accordance with the vacuum created within the envelope to form a rigid impression. This impression, however, is at the expense of comfort. Moreover, the incompressibility of the small spheres does not permit a change in the basic dimensions of the cushion, for example, of its overall thickness.

In addition, a surgical cushion has been proposed with a view to improve the blood circulation of the user of the cushion by supporting the user alternatively by one part of the cushion and then by another. This cushion consists of a flexible, tight envelope, divided by partitions into at least two cells or two groups of cells, each of which contains an elastically compressible substance. Each cell is connected individually or in a group to a depression medium and is compressed by the atmospheric pressure when the depression is applied so that the user is carried only by the cells from which the air has not been evacuated.

In a cushion of this known kind, the internal partitions prevent the free circulation of air within the entirety of the porous substance. This partitioning does not make it possible to provide a continuous support for the occupant.

In addition, the manufacture of a partitioned envelope with several tight cells is complicated, not only in its structure but also in making the multiple connections and applying the selective means to the vacuum pum and to the ambient air.

The object of the present invention is to provide a cushion in which the above disadvantages have been eliminated or reduced.

The present invention consists in a cushion for a seat, a couch or a mattress comprising in combination a flexible, tight non-subdivided envelope, which is substantially compressible in the direction of the thickness of the cushion, connecting means for selectively connecting the interior of said envelope with an ambient environment or with vacuum means in order to regulate the internal pressure in the envelope, closing means for closing off the interior of said envelope so as to maintain a determined pressure in the interior of the envelope and a porous mass which is elastically compressible, contained in the envelope and compressed when the space is connected to the vacuum means, by said connecting means and so as to be inflated when the interior of the envelope is connected to the ambient environment by said connecting means.

The cushion has an inherent rigidity, due to the presence of the elastically compressible material it contains.

If it is compressed by an external force, e.g. by the weight of the user, the porous material and the air in the envelope offer a resistance.

By controlling the internal pressure of the air within the cushion in accordance with the invention, the shape of the cushion can be marked while the external pressures remain constant. The elastically compressible substance forms a heterogenous element which makes possible different internal pressures in different zones in the envelope of the cushion.

Statically, the internal air pressure is uniform in the cushion as in an air mattress. Dynamically however, when the cushion is subjected to external forces, it behaves differently to the pneumatic cushion, because the porous substance is not subjected to a uniform pressure extending to the entire mass.

The term vacuum means as used in the specification and claims, defines any device, such as a vacuum pump, a motor depression as well as the outside environment of a pressurized vehicle or aircraft when this vehicle or aircraft is in flight or in the space.

According to one feature of the invention, the cushion is connected to the vacuum means through a tight chamher.

In the case where the cushion occupies a seat, the latter comprises a hollow frame which forms the tight chamber in which the depression environment is realized.

Preferably, the actuating member for the control valve is mounted on an elbow member of the seat.

The present invention also comprises the use of the cushion in a pressurized aircraft or space vehicle. In this case, according to the invention, the depression chamber can communicate through a conduit with a vacuum pump if the vehicle is in the non-pressurized state and/ or with the ambient environment when the vehicle is in flight or in outer space and is pressurized.

At height, the pressure difference between the ambient environment outside the cushion and the depression medium, required for its functioning, is ensured by a compressor forming part of the vehicle, which maintains in the environmental medium of the cushion a higher pressure than that outside the pressurized vehicle with which the depression chamber may communicate.

According to another feature, a non-return valve is mounted in the conduit connecting the chamber with the vacuum means.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a basic diagram of a first operating mode of the cushion according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a basic diagram of a second mode of operation;

FIGS. 3 to 6 show different shapes of cushions applied to a seat, which is occupied and subjected to different internal pressures;

FIG. 7 shows partly and diagrammatically the use of a cushion on a seat in an aircraft or space vehicle.

In all drawings the same reference numerals designate the same elements.

In carrying the invention into effect by one convenient mode by way of example a cushion 1 comprises mass 2 of a porous materal in one piece which is resiliently compressible, such as polyether foam for example. It may also consist of latex foam, synthetic resins and the like. This material is located in a flexible tight envelope 3, which is not sub-divided, and is substantially compressible in the direction of the thickness of the cushion.

Preferably the envelope is of elastic material.

A three-way control valve connected to conduits 4, 6, 7 selectively closes the envelope or connects it to the ambient environment or to a vaccum means 8.

According to FIG. 1 showing the principal operation of a cushion, the cushion is connected to a deflating means which is a vacuum pump 10, via a chamber 9 which is sealed against the environment.

According to FIG. 2 showing the operation of a cushion in an aircraft or space vehicle at height, the vacuum means is the low pressure outside the aircraft surrounding a chamber 11 (diagrammatically the fuselage of the aircraft or vehicle) which is pressurized by means of a compressor 12. This compressor maintains in the environment of the cushion a pressure higher than that outside the aircraft or vehicle and than that in the chamber 9, mounted in the conduit 7 communicating with the outside.

The control of the internal pressure of the cushion by the occupant is the same whatever the operational principle, and is effected manually by the threeway valve 5.

When the valve 5 opens to the environment as shown in FIG. 3, the internal air pressure of the cushion is the same as that of the environment.

If in this position the internal pressure is higher than that of the environment, by the weight of passenger 13 the cushion defiates.

If on the other hand the internal pressure of the cushion were lower than that of the environment, the cushion would inflate.

These movements would cease when equilibrium has been obtained.

If the valve 5 is opened to the vacuum means, as shown in FIG. 4, the air pressure inside the cushion drops until it reaches the pressure of the deflating medium. Under the action of external pressures the cushion deflates and the porous material is compressed until the pressure exterted by the porous material and by the deflating medium equals the external pressures.

In FIG. 6 the cushion is shown at maximum compres sion.

By connecting the cushion with the environment, it will reinflate and resume its initial shape according to FIG. 3.

Between these two extreme shapes it is possible, by operating the valve in one or the other direction or by closing it to impart to the cushion intermediate shapes to ensure optimum comfort varying from one person to the other, for example such as shown in FIG. 5.

If the sitter 13 leaves the cushion, it is found that for a comparatively long time the impression of the sitter will be maintained in the cushion, owing to the cell effect in the zone 14 in the porous material underneath the occupant.

This phenomenon depends on the structure of the porous material and takes place in varying degrees. The persistence of the impression differs from one material to the other.

This is important from the point of view of comfort because it gives the cushion and the formed impression the properties of a semi-rigid mould formed by local pressures and having a stability far superior to that obtained with cushions known at present.

FIG. 7 shows the use of cushions according to the invention in seats 15 mounted on a support 16 in an aircraft or space vehicle, of which the fuselage 17 is shown diagrammatically and partially.

Cushions 1 are located in the back 18, i.e. in the lumbar region of the occupant and in the forward part of the seat 19.

Two manually operable three-way valves 5 are mounted on an elbow 20' of the seat and are connected by conduits 4, 6, 7 respectively with the cushion, with the ambient air and with the chamber 9 formed by the hollow frame of the seat supporting the cushions.

The vacuum is formed in the chamber through a conduit 21 which terminates outside the fuselage and which is connected to a vacuum pump 10 through a quick action union 22 when the aircraft or space vehicle is on the ground and non-pressurized and/ or is open to the outside environment of the vehicle when it is at height and pressurized.

Preferably several chambers 9 are mounted in parallel on the same conduit 21.

A non-return valve 23 mounted in the conduit 21 and opening in the direction of the arrow makes it possible to maintain the vacuum when the vehicle is on the ground. A pressure gauge 24 located between the chamber and the non-return valve serves for checking the vacuum in the chamber.

Moreover every seat and back cushion also communicates with the ambient environment through a safety valve 25 opening in the direction of the arrow when the pressure of the environment is lower than the internal pressure of the cushion.

The aircraft or space vehicle is equipped with a compressor 12 ensuring a pressure difference between the environment of the seat and the chamber 9 when the vehicle is flying at height.

Owing to the non-return valve 23, the vacuum in the chamber may be maintained automatically when the vehicle returns to the ground. However, if the vacuum in the chamber is insufficient owing to the repeated or simultaneous functioning of the cushions when the vehicle is flying at low altitude or is on the ground, a vacuum pump 10 may be connected to the quick action union 22.

Although the cushion according to the invention has been described particularly with reference to an aircraft or space vehicle, it can be used equally well for a chair, settee or couch for domestic or medical equipment or for overland or sea transport.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the embodiment shown in the drawings and modifications may be made both in the shape and dimensions of the parts provided they do not contradict the objects of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A seat, a couch or a mattress having a cushion adjustable in thickness independently of the weight of an occupant, comprising, in combination, a flexible tight envelope forming a single enclosed chamber, said envelope being substantially collapsible in the direction of the support thickness of the cushion, said chamber being filled with an integral body of elastically compressible porous intercommunicating open cellular material having an inherent rigidity capable of substantially supporting the weight of an occupant Without collapsing, a vacuum source, valve means for selectively communicating the interior of the envelope with said vacuum source and with an ambient environment and for blocking said communication with the envelope, said valve means being operable to permit air to be withdrawn from said integral porous open cellular body when the interior of the envelope is communicated with the vacuum means, so as to form in the porous open cellular body an impression automatically adapting itself to movement of the anatomical shape of the occupant due to the collapsing of the open cells of the porous materials in the zone underneath the occupant, said integral porous open cellular body maintaining the final configuration of the last position of the occupant thereon when the weight of the occupant is removed, and to allow air to be supplied into said integral porous open cellular body when the interior of said envelope is communicated with the ambient environment when said valve is open, so as to enable said porous body to recover the thickness which is desired by the occupant without requiring the occupant to leave the seat.

2. A seat, a couch or a mattress according to claim 1 wherein, a vacuum chamber is connected between said vacuum source and said valve means for assisting in removing air from the porous material, when said envelope is disconnected from the vacuum source.

3. A seat, a couch or a mattress according to claim 2, wherein the structure of the vacuum chamber comprises a support for the cushion.

4. A seat, a couch or a mattress according to claim 3, further comprising means for connecting said vacuum chamber to at least one subsequent chamber of a similar cushion.

5. A seat, a couch or mattress according to claim 2, for use in a pressurized vehicle or aircraft, wherein said vacuum chamber is communicated through a conduit with a vacuum pump.

6. A seat, a couch or a mattress according to claim 2, for use in a pressurized vehicle or aircraft, wherein said vacuum chamber is communicated with the outside envirmonment of said pressurized vehicle or aircraft.

References tCited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,779,034 1/1957 Arpin 5--348 3,017,642 1/1962 Rosenberg et a1. 5349 3,192,541 7/1965 Moore 5349 3,272,608 9/1966 Andresen 13781 X 3,326,601 6/ 1967 Vanderbilt et a1. 534 8 UX PAUL R. GILLIAM, Primary Examiner 

